The bottom line in America today is that while everyone who isn’t paid not to know, knows how to fix what’s wrong with America (for example, instead of the mess called Health Care Reform, pass single payer), nothing that really fixes anything fundamental will be allowed to occur.
America is controlled by what economists call rent-seeking behaviour. Virtually everyone important has a revenue stream, and they don’t want anyone to take that revenue stream away. So pharma and insurance companies, who would have been damaged badly by single payer (they would have lost hundreds of billions) made sure that a plan to provide everyone with better health care for a third less than current costs was never even considered.
The most important game in America today is the contest for control of government, so that government can directly or indirectly give you money. Health care “reform” in which the government decided to force Americans to buy private health insurance or be fined is merely the latest (and most blatant) example. Virtually every industry, from finance to telecom to agriculture is involved in this game. It is in all their interests to make sure the game continues, but they do fight amongst each other for the spoils.
The Tea Party and the Ancien Regime
What's really depressing is that there will always be a crowd of meatheads like the ones who were urging that we "pass the (health care "reform") bill already" so we can start making "progress". The will to make our government do what needs to be done is so weak right now that our elected officials clearly have no fear of failing to do it. They aren't even trying, and there are lots of people who are willing to make excuses for that behavior, and to describe the objections of people who see where this is taking us as "shrill" or "unreasonable".
Accepting this level of malfeasance has become as American as overeating.
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